Balonia gens


The gens Balonia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen Balonius belongs to a class of gentilicia formed using the suffix ', originally applied to cognomina ending in ', but later used as a regular gentile-forming suffix, without regard to the orthography of the root. These nomina tended to be of plebeian origin, and were frequently Oscan. Chase suggests that Balonius might be derived from the cognomen Bala, perhaps from Latin balare, "to bleat". The spelling Bellonius, found in a few inscriptions, suggests a possible derivation from Bellona, the goddess of war, although the two forms could also have developed independently.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the Balonii were Aulus, Gaius, and Marcus, all of which were common throughout Roman history. Other names used by this gens included Gnaeus and Lucius, which were also common, and Numerius, which was relatively uncommon, and much more distinctive.

Members